Page 22 of Forget

“Hi, I’m Aisling,” I say with a grin, uncaring that I’m repeating Reagan. I need an opening to find out who they are.

There’s a blond God of an alpha standing protectively over both omegas, which is curious to me. It’s not the action of a packed up alpha, but more a family member. Interesting. The omegas introduce themselves as Flynn and Wren, and the blond is Jasper. As we chat, I find myself opening up about myself.

I’m a pretty private person overall, so this surprises even me. Something tells me that they’re a naturally suspicious group, and only the truth will do. Even if it is a trauma info dump.

“My mom is Beatrice Reynolds, and she may have had a little affair with Cian Sullivan. He found out after my mom passed away, and he decided he wanted to get to know me,” I explain.

“Are you two getting along?” Wren asks sweetly.

Thinking about that, I decide that’s a complicated question.

“Yes and no,” I say with a laugh. “I didn’t grow up in this life, so some of the rules are hard for me to understand and follow. I’m just glad the families in these packs don’t work in sex trafficking.”

Wren’s face changes, and I wonder what her story is. As we chat, she slowly relaxes again, confirming to me that she dislikes the practice of trafficking omegas. Feeling excited despite myself, I push for more information.

“There’s so few resources for omegas, and I want to change that. My mother died when I was sixteen and I didn’t know what to do,” I explain. “If there was an organization that offered help without any strings, it would have changed so much for us. I want to find or create something that will open doors for omegas.”

“Shit,” Flynn breathes, unnaturally still. I hope he’s an omega that’s always been well loved, safe, and never gone through what I have.

You don’t have to go through the shit to still want to help.

“Aisling, would it be really ignorant to ask how old you are?” he asks, wincing. Ahh, someone put some things together. Good omega.

“I’m eighteen, and my dad found me almost two years after my mom died. In fact, just a few months ago,” I say with a sigh. “I found a job, changed and showered in public bathrooms, and eventually made enough money to get an apartment with a couple of people during those two years. I can’t even call them friends, but we managed to co-exist.”

The words taste like ash on my tongue, because Orla and Mickey were my rocks when I was tumbling through a sea of grief and despair. It feels unfair to describe them as less than what they were, but if I get into it, I’ll lose my composure. I can’t do that here.

I’ll remember them properly when I’m home in my nest, where I can cry in my soundproofed room.

“Anyway,” I continue, tucking away my emotions, “I went through a lot during that time, none of it pretty. If you’re serious about helping other omegas, I have some ideas on how to do that.”

Wren’s eyes light up, and I know I’ve found a kindred spirit, maybe even a friend. I really hope I’m reading this right.

“What kind of ideas?” Jasper asks protectively. “Wren has been through a lot, this life is dangerous enough as it is, Aisling.”

Hmm, they’re definitely siblings. Interesting. The glance of surprise that Wren gives him means that even she is shocked by the intensity of his tone. Everyone deserves people in their corner. It appears she has several.

Good for her.

“Jasper, really,” she mutters. “I am interested in hearing more, though.”

“Safe places for omegas to stay, starting with Minnesota,” I say immediately. “A non-profit that is funded to help runawaysso they can start over, and somewhere for omegas with children in the case that their alphas are abusive.”

The conversation snowballs until I find more time has passed than expected, and Flynn is offering to exchange phone numbers with me. I’ve laughed and hugged Wren and Flynn more than I have with most people in this short time, but I feel a surge of uncertainty when Wren admits that she doesn’t have a phone, nor knows how to use one.

Was she in a cult? Oh my God, did I misunderstand everything and they’re completely controlling?

I swallow hard, my eyes moving over them all to commit their features to memory in case I need to ask my father for help to extract this innocent omega.

“I feel as if there’s a story there, but it’s none of my business. I also want you to know that we just became best friends, so if these yahoos are assholes to you, I want to know,” I growl.

Flynn’s grin is so wide it may split his face, and I flush because it looks as if I may be in over my head. There’s something about Wren that draws me to her, even though we’ve just met. A part of me wants her to be happy, to work with me to help others, but I will also gladly stab anyone who makes her cry.

“I can assure you that I worship the ground my omega walks on,” Flynn says. “I also want your number to be correctly programmed in here, so I should probably do it.”

“That’s fair,” I murmur with a nod, rattling off my number. I’m still pretty suspicious, but I’ll table it for now and ask my father for intel later, especially since I’ll be seeing Wren more often.

“I’m texting you so you have my information as well,” he says, his fingers moving quickly over the keyboard before he tucks it back into his pocket.

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